U.S. patent application number 12/654528 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-24 for inkjet head and method of manufacturing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Jae Woo Joung, Ji Han Kwon, Chang Sung Park.
Application Number | 20110043564 12/654528 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43605012 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110043564 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Park; Chang Sung ; et
al. |
February 24, 2011 |
Inkjet head and method of manufacturing the same
Abstract
An inkjet head according to an aspect of the invention may
include: a flow path plate having a plurality of ink chambers; a
nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzles connected to the ink
chambers in order to eject ink in the ink chambers to the outside;
and a temperature control unit having a heat exchange passage in at
least one of the flow path plate and the nozzle plate in order to
control temperature of the ink.
Inventors: |
Park; Chang Sung; (Suwon,
KR) ; Joung; Jae Woo; (Suwon, KR) ; Kwon; Ji
Han; (Namyangju, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700, 1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon
KR
|
Family ID: |
43605012 |
Appl. No.: |
12/654528 |
Filed: |
December 22, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
347/17 ;
29/890.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 29/49401 20150115;
B41J 2/161 20130101; B41J 2/14233 20130101; B41J 2202/08 20130101;
B41J 2/1626 20130101; B41J 2/1623 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
347/17 ;
29/890.1 |
International
Class: |
B41J 29/38 20060101
B41J029/38; B23P 17/00 20060101 B23P017/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 24, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0078346 |
Claims
1. An inkjet head comprising: a flow path plate having a plurality
of ink chambers; a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzles
connected to the ink chambers in order to eject ink in the ink
chambers to the outside; and a temperature control unit having a
heat exchange passage in at least one of the flow path plate and
the nozzle plate in order to control temperature of the ink.
2. The inkjet head of claim 1, wherein a liquid refrigerant
circulates through the heat exchange passage of the temperature
control unit.
3. The inkjet head of claim 1, wherein a gas refrigerant circulates
through the heat exchange passage of the temperature control
unit.
4. The inkjet head of claim 1, wherein the heat exchange passage of
the temperature control unit surrounds the ink chambers.
5. The inkjet head of claim 1, wherein the heat exchange passage of
the temperature control unit surrounds the nozzles.
6. The inkjet head of claim 1, further comprising an intermediate
plate arranged between the flow path plate and the nozzle plate and
having dampers connecting the ink chambers and the nozzles.
7. The inkjet head of claim 6, wherein the temperature control unit
surrounds the dampers.
8. A method of manufacturing an inkjet head, the method comprising:
providing a flow path plate having an ink chamber and a nozzle
plate having a nozzle; forming a recess defining a path surrounding
at least one of the ink chamber and the nozzle; and forming a heat
exchange passage in order to control temperature of ink by bonding
the flow path plate and the nozzle plate with the recess.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the heat exchange passage is
formed to surround the ink chamber.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the heat exchange passage is
formed to surround the nozzle.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the forming of the heat exchange
passage is performed by forming the recess through an etching
process.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority of Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2009-0078346 filed on Aug. 24, 2009, in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an inkjet head and a method
of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an inkjet head
that can improve printing quality and a method of manufacturing the
same.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In general, an inkjet head converts an electric signal into
a physical force so that ink droplets are ejected through small
nozzles.
[0006] In recent years, piezoelectric inkjet heads have been used
in industrial inkjet printers. For example, a circuit pattern is
directly formed by spraying ink prepared by melting metals such as
gold or silver onto a printed circuit board (PCB). A piezoelectric
ink et head is also used for industrial graphics, and is used in
the manufacturing of a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic
light emitting diode (OLED).
[0007] In general, an inlet and an outlet through which ink is
introduced and ejected in a cartridge, a reservoir storing the ink
being introduced, and chambers through which a driving force of an
actuator by which the ink in the reservoir is moved to nozzles are
provided in an inkjet head of an inkjet printer.
[0008] However, since the inkjet head according to the related art
does not have a separate temperature control system therein, when
high-speed vibrations occur in an actuator, heat is generated to
thereby cause changes in the temperature of ink.
[0009] The changes in the temperature cause changes in the
viscosity of ink and the surface tension ink, which lead to changes
in the speed and volume of ink droplets being ejected. As a result,
printing quality is deteriorated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] An aspect of the present invention provides an inkjet head
that can increase printing quality by controlling the temperature
of ink and a method of manufacturing the same.
[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an inkjet head including: a flow path plate having a
plurality of ink chambers; a nozzle plate having a plurality of
nozzles connected to the ink chambers in order to eject ink in the
ink chambers to the outside; and a temperature control unit having
a heat exchange passage in at least one of the flow path plate and
the nozzle plate in order to control temperature of the ink.
[0012] A liquid refrigerant may circulate through the heat exchange
passage of the temperature control unit.
[0013] A gas refrigerant may circulate through the heat exchange
passage of the temperature control unit.
[0014] The heat exchange passage of the temperature control unit
may surround the ink chambers.
[0015] The heat exchange passage of the temperature control unit
may surround the nozzles.
[0016] The inkjet head may further include an intermediate plate
arranged between the flow path plate and the nozzle plate and
having dampers connecting the ink chambers and the nozzles.
[0017] The temperature control unit may surround the dampers.
[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a method of manufacturing an inkjet head, the method
including: providing a flow path plate having an ink chamber and a
nozzle plate having a nozzle; forming a recess defining a path
surrounding at least one of the ink chamber and the nozzle; and
forming a heat exchange passage in order to control temperature of
ink by bonding the flow path plate and the nozzle plate with the
recess.
[0019] The heat exchange passage may be formed to surround the ink
chamber.
[0020] The heat exchange passage may be formed to surround the
nozzle.
[0021] The forming of the heat exchange passage may be 2 recess
through an etching process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The above and other aspects, features and other advantages
of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an
inkjet head according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inkjet
head of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a side sectional view illustrating the inkjet head
of FIG. 1;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a sectional perspective view illustrating a
temperature control unit of an inkjet head according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of
manufacturing an inkjet head according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention; and
[0028] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a temperature
control unit of an inkjet head according to another exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0029] An inkjet head and a method of manufacturing the same
according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be
described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 through 6. Exemplary
embodiments of the present invention will now be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0030] The invention may, however, be embodied in many different
forms and should not be construed as being limited to the
embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are
provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and
will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in
the art.
[0031] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an
inkjet head according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inkjet head of
FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view illustrating the inkjet
head of FIG. 1.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 1, an inkjet head 100 includes a flow path
plate 110, an intermediate plate 120, a nozzle plate 130, and a
temperature control unit 150.
[0033] A plurality of ink chambers 112 are formed in the flow path
plate 110. An ink introduction hole 116 is provided in the flow
path plate 110. Here, the ink introduction hole 116 is directly
connected to a manifold 122. The manifold 122 supplies ink to the
ink chambers 112 through a restrictor 124 (in the direction of the
arrow).
[0034] Here, the manifold 122 may be one big space to which the
plurality of ink chambers 112 are connected. However, the invention
is not limited thereto. A plurality of manifolds 122 may be formed
to correspond to the individual ink chambers 112.
[0035] Similarly, one ink introduction hole 116 may be formed to
correspond to one manifold 122. When the plurality of manifolds 122
are formed, a plurality of ink introduction holes 116 may be formed
to correspond to the individual manifolds 122.
[0036] The ink chambers 112 are provided in the flow path plate 110
at positions located under piezoelectric actuators 140. Here, a
portion of the flow path plate 110 that forms the ceiling of the
ink chambers 112 serves as a vibration plate 114.
[0037] Therefore, when a driving signal is applied to the
piezoelectric actuators 140 in order to eject ink, the
piezoelectric actuators 140 and the vibration plate 114 thereunder
are deformed to reduce the volumes of the ink chambers 112.
[0038] Here, the reduction in the volumes of the ink chambers 112
increases the pressure inside the ink chambers 112, so that ink
inside the ink chambers 112 is ejected to the outside through
dampers 126 and nozzles 132.
[0039] Electrodes electrically connected to each other may be
formed on upper and lower surfaces of each of the piezoelectric
actuators 140. The electrodes may be formed of Lead Zirconate
Titanate (PZT) ceramics, which is one of piezoelectric
materials.
[0040] Here, the above space together with the temperature control
unit 150 may be created in the flow path plate 110 by an etching
process in order to form the ink chambers 112 and the ink
introduction hole 116.
[0041] The intermediate plate 120 may include the manifold 122
having a large length extending in a longitudinal direction and the
dampers 126 connecting the nozzles 132 and the ink chambers
112.
[0042] The manifold 122 is supplied with ink through the ink
introduction hole 116 and supplies the ink to the ink chambers 112.
The manifold 122 and the ink chambers 112 are connected with each
other through the restrictor 124.
[0043] The dampers 126 receive the ink ejected from the ink
chambers 112 through the piezoelectric actuators 140 and eject the
received ink to the outside through the nozzles 132.
[0044] The dampers 126 may have a multi-stage configuration by
which the amount of ink ejected from the ink chambers 112 and the
amount of ink ejected through the nozzles 132 can be
controlled.
[0045] Here, the dampers 126 are optional. When the dampers 126 are
removed, the inkjet head only includes the flow path plate 110 and
the nozzle plate 130.
[0046] The intermediate plate 120 may include the dampers 126 and
the manifold 122 together with the temperature control unit
150.
[0047] The nozzle plate 130 corresponds to the ink chambers 112 and
includes the nozzles 132 through which the ink passing through the
dampers 126 is ejected to the outside. The nozzle plate 130 is
bonded to the bottom of the intermediate plate 120.
[0048] The ink moving through a flow path formed inside the inkjet
head is sprayed as ink droplets through the nozzles 132.
[0049] Here, silicon substrates being widely used for semiconductor
integrated circuits may be used as the flow path plate 110, the
intermediate plate 120, and the nozzle plate 130. However, the flow
path plate 110, the intermediate plate 120 and the nozzle plate 130
are not limited to silicon substrates, and may be formed of various
materials.
[0050] FIG. 4 is a sectional perspective view illustrating a
temperature control unit of an inkjet head according to an
exemplary embodiment of the invention.
[0051] Referring to FIG. 4, recesses may be provided in the
temperature control unit 150 so that flow paths are formed in the
flow path plate 110, the intermediate plate 120 and the nozzle
plate 130.
[0052] The flow path plate 110, the intermediate plate 120 and the
nozzle plate 130 are bonded to each other, thereby forming the
temperature control unit 150 inside the inkjet head.
[0053] Here, the temperature control unit 150 includes heat
exchange passages 152a and 152b, which are spaces inside the inkjet
head, through which refrigerant circulates (in the direction of the
arrow). Furthermore, the temperature of the ink can be controlled
to desired temperature through the heat exchange passages 152a and
152b.
[0054] Here, a refrigerant may be a liquid, such as water having a
low temperature. However, the invention is not limited. A gas
refrigerant, such as air, helium or hydrogen, may be used.
Alternatively, the refrigerant may be generally any of halocarbons,
hydrocarbon, an organic compound, and an inorganic compound.
[0055] As shown in FIG. 2, the temperature control unit 150 may
include the heat exchange passage 152a surrounding the ink chambers
112 so that refrigerant circulates around the ink chambers 112.
[0056] Further, the temperature control unit 150 may include the
heat exchange passage 152b surrounding dampers 126 so that
refrigerant circulates around the dampers 126.
[0057] Here, the dampers 126 may have a multi-stage configuration,
and the heat exchange passage 152b may also have a multi-stage
configuration correspondingly.
[0058] As for the inkjet head according to this embodiment,
refrigerant may be used in order to prevent an increase in the
temperature of the ink due to heat generated in piezoelectric
actuators 140 during vibrations thereof. The stable state of the
ink is ensured to thereby increase high frequency ink ejection
characteristics and printing quality.
[0059] In this embodiment, the refrigerant may be used to reduce
the temperature of the ink. However, the temperature control unit
150 may be designed to use hot
[0060] water in order to increase the temperature of the ink
according to the purpose of the inkjet head.
[0061] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of
manufacturing an inkjet head according to an exemplary embodiment
of the invention.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 5, a method of manufacturing an inkjet
head includes providing the flow path plate 110 and the nozzle
plate 130.
[0063] In order to form the temperature control unit 150, the ink
chambers 112 may be formed in one surface of the flow path plate
110, and the heat exchange passages 152a and 152b are formed in the
nozzle plate 130.
[0064] The heat exchange passages 152a and 152b are formed by an
etching process together with the ink chambers 112, the manifold
122, the dampers 126 and the nozzles 132.
[0065] The flow path plate 110 and the nozzle plate 130 are then
bonded to each other to thereby form the temperature control unit
150 therein.
[0066] Here, the flow path plate 110, the intermediate plate 120
and the nozzle plate 130 are bonded to each other to form a single
body. That is, the intermediate plate 120 is bonded to the bottom
of the flow path plate 110, and the nozzle plate 130 is bonded to
the bottom of the intermediate plate 120. However, the heat
exchange passages 152a and 152b are formed in each layer, through
which refrigerant is circulated.
[0067] Since the temperature control unit 150 may be formed between
the ink chambers 112 and the ink introduction hole 116 through
which ink is introduced, the transmission of vibrations from the
piezoelectric actuator 140 to the ink introduction hole 116 can be
prevented by the refrigerant circulating through the heat exchange
passages.
[0068] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a temperature
control unit of an inkjet head according to another exemplary
embodiment of the invention.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 6, recesses may be formed in a temperature
control unit 250 so that flow paths are formed in the flow path
plate 110, the intermediate plate 120 and the nozzle plate 130.
[0070] As shown in FIG. 6, the temperature control unit 250 may
include a heat exchange passage 252a surrounding the ink chambers
112 so that refrigerant circulates around the ink chambers 112.
[0071] The temperature control unit 250 may include a heat exchange
passage 252b surrounding the dampers 126 so that refrigerant
circulates through the dampers 126.
[0072] Here, the heat exchange passage 252b may have an L shape so
that the refrigerant circulates around the nozzles 132 connected to
the dampers 126.
[0073] Therefore, the heat exchange passage 252b according to this
embodiment is formed around the dampers 126, is formed adjacent to
the bottom of the dampers 126, and is formed so that the
refrigerant circulates around the nozzles 132, thereby effectively
controlling the temperature of the ink being ejected to the
outside.
[0074] As set forth above, since an inkjet head and a method of
manufacturing the same according to exemplary embodiments of the
invention include a temperature control unit controlling the
temperature of the ink to ensure the stable state of the ink,
thereby increasing high frequency ink ejection characteristics and
printing quality.
[0075] Furthermore, according to the inkjet head and the method of
manufacturing the same, the temperature control unit formed
adjacent to ink chambers and nozzles can prevent crosstalk
affecting another chamber by preventing the transmission of
vibrations from an actuator to another adjacent chamber.
[0076] While the present invention has been shown and described in
connection with the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to
those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention
as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *